A Brother's Realization
by LycoX
Summary: A dream causes Oliver to realize the mistake he's made where not only his city is concerned, but his sister especially.


**A Brother's Realization**

**Disclaimer: This ended up being inspired by TheWhiteWolf's recent fic 'An Unexpected Epiphany'. Takes place a little while after Arrow's third season and will not be for fans of Feli/Olicity.**

**And to Phillipe363, if you're reading this since you chose not to keep things private like an adult, I guess I'll have to address some of your claims here. First of all, I do not have blinders towards Candice/Iris. Second of all, had she done as you claimed she has, it would have been reported and be all over the internet like the thing with her and that basketball player regardless of how loyal her fans are towards her. But guess what? Its not anywhere to be found and until I see actual hard evidence she exposed herself to kids or whatever nonsense she's supposedly done, I will not believe it happened.**

**But should actual proof actually show up, I will issue an apology in a public manner. And as we all know, assholes would love any excuse to knock down a successful black woman and this would be a prime example to do exactly that. I would have the same issue with a woman exposing herself like that to kids just like I would a man. And to my knowledge, not once have I ever said, implied, or thought of you as a Nazi. And for some reason, I didn't think you were a Trump supporter but with the way you were acting in your guest review, I'm starting to think otherwise.**

**And yes, I do know what a Nazi is. I wasn't born and raised in a barn. Here's another thing, were Oliver and Nyssa to have a child together, genetics and her ethnicity would play a big part in that so Kat's Mia wouldn't necessarily make sense. Hence (and I apologize to Stand for this for dragging him into this) why Stand more or less realistically recast the role of Nora when he made it to where she was the daughter of Barry and Patty. I also never once thought it was acting like a Nazi to prevent Muslims from coming into the country. **

**Do I agree with holding camps or whatever? Hell no as we need better methods than that. And the way I see it, you can have some respect for someone and not like them but still be willing at some point to tease them. That was also probably Nyssa's way of showing she's not entirely willing to skewer either Oliver or Felicity despite the fact she probably dislikes both of them to some extent. Look at Roman Pierce in the second Fast and Furious film, he had big time issues with Brian to the point he disliked him, bordering on hate even, and yet, was willing bicker with him and even care somewhat. Admittedly, a lot of my views of Nyssa are based on earlier material so there's that.**

**And no, I don't have problems with Lesbians either and I'm not sure what made you think that either. I'm not even going to address the feminine stuff you mentioned except to say that wage gaps do exist between men and women. Or, you know, it wouldn't have been mentioned by Lois.**

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One would think Oliver Queen would be having quite a peaceful night's sleep after hours of enthusiastic sex with his current girlfriend, Felicity Smoak, in their Ivy Town home. One they'd gotten roughly a month after being on the road doing sight seeing stuff. But sadly, that just wasn't the case as that night, a dream chose to blow in involving several people in his life. Not even Felicity was aware of what was going on despite the moans and shuffling about he was doing thanks to how deeply asleep she was after their rounds of love making. "_I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago, Oliver. But everyone else? They don't deserve that._" Came Laurel's voice.

"_You broke your promise to us! How can we trust you!?_" Came another voice but the owner of it was cloaked in shadow.

"_What happens if another bad man comes after me!? Or another kid!? You've abandoned us!_" Taylor Moore's voice was heard.

"_Ollie! Why'd you leave!? Can't you see I need you here!? You're supposed to be my brother!_" Cried out a tearful Thea.

"_You know, I used to think it was Laurel you'd always choose and I could stomach it a little considerin' the past you two have. But I never thought you'd break a promise to the people of this city and choose Felicity and damn everyone else. But in the end, I guess that's really the kind of man you are, Oliver._" Declared Diggle with a disapproving look on his face with his arms crossed.

"_You leaving has made my sacrifice in vain! But I guess that's not a surprise given how you caused me to lose Thea! You're no damn hero!_" Yelled Roy in his dream.

"_OLLIE!_" Cried Thea and that's when Oliver shot up in the bed he and Felicity shared.

Breathing heavily and sweating as guilt strongly welled up in him as he realized then and there that he had ultimately abandoned not just his city and those in it and broke his promise to them, regardless of the fact the Arrow was thought dead. But that more than that, he had practically abandoned his sister when she likely needed him more than anything after everything that happened. Yes, there was Laurel and John to watch over her but at the end of the day, it was his duty to be doing that as her older brother. And he had been failing spectacularly now that he finally realized that. Plus, he wouldn't be all that surprised if John had chosen to keep his sister at arm's length due to his own feelings towards him. And that was another situation Oliver had foolishly allowed to happen due to how things were in the end between the two of them.

But instead, here he was, miles away in a house that didn't really feel like a true home to him. With someone that ultimately, Oliver had fooled himself into thinking he loved since he felt himself unworthy of Laurel's. And because of that, felt that Felicity was the choice to make. Something she didn't deserve either for that matter. _Time to change all that. If Thea, John, and Laurel will let me…_

Oliver would ensure no longer continued to invalidate Roy's sacrifice for him by returning to Starling City and being the good man he could and should be for those in his life. And for those who needed him as his bow wielding alter ego. Another thing was also making amends with Captain Lance after everything that happened… _So many mistakes I keep making… Allowing Malcolm to take over the League was just another of those in a long line of mistakes I've made._

By all rights, that damn ring belonged to Nyssa and Oliver wouldn't be surprised if she gutted him before even saying hello the next eventual time they crossed paths for what he'd done where that ring was concerned. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Oliver got out of bed without disturbing Felicity and went to take a shower before getting things ready for his return to Starling. Which, when he thought about it, is where Felicity should be as it is too since Ray for whatever reason thought it was a good idea to sign his company over to her. Part of him still felt annoyed on how Ray had essentially swept his family's company away from him as well for that matter.

**Sometime Later**

The last thing Felicity expected when she woke up was to find herself alone in bed. In addition to that, seeing her boyfriend packing his bags. "Oliver? What, what are you doing?"

She watched as he froze momentarily before looking back at her. "I'm leaving." Was all he said at first.

"Leaving!?" Exclaimed Felicity as she shot out of bed and getting him to look at her.

"I'm going back to Starling, Felicity. I have too."

To say Felicity was confused and a bit unhappy about this turn of events was perhaps an understatement. "Why do you have too? There's no reason for you to go back there! This is what our life is supposed to be now! Happy domestic bliss with just the two of us!" She told him, hoping it would break through to him.

"In case you forgot, I do have a sister there. And she is a big part of why I'm going back." Replied the man calmly.

Even if there was a spike of irritation in him over how she seemed to completely ignore the fact Thea's in Starling. Felicity looked at him as if she felt he was being ridiculous. "Oliver. Thea is pretty much an adult now. And besides, she has John and Laurel there to watch over her if she actually needs it. Now, come on, get undressed and back into bed with me."

But he refused to do so, even when Felicity tried to pull on him in the direction of their bed. "I can't do that, Felicity. A dream I had made me realize what a mistake _this _is with us by being _here _instead of there in Starling. We both should be in Starling. Me owning up to my promise I made to the city and being _especially _there for my sister after everything that happened, making amends with John, you running Palmer Tech, and helping make the city a better place."

"Why do I feel like there's no place for an _us _in all that?" Wondered Felicity suspiciously.

"Because… That feeling would be right. I'm still in love with Laurel, Felicity. Always have been, always likely will be. Only reason I'm not with her is because I feel I'm not deserving of her and her love after all I've done. And that? That's not fair to you at all as you deserve better than that." Replied Oliver, a little disappointed she had chosen to focus solely on the 'us' aspect of everything.

Needless to say, Felicity wasn't too pleased what by she'd heard. She honestly didn't care about Palmer Tech as much as she did about having the 'Life' with Oliver. Hell, why Ray had signed it over to her had never made any sense to her when she had no knowledge in business running. Part of Felicity thought that Oliver was just having commitment fears again where they were concerned and came up with the stuff he did to justify them. "Oliver, come back to bed, okay? Some more sleep is clearly needed for you as I don't think you're thinking with a clear head."

"That's the thing, I _am _thinking with a clear head." He told her truthfully.

Earning himself a scowl from her as she crossed her arms. "If you walk out that door, don't expect me to follow. Or to be welcomed back here." Felicity declared.

Thinking that the ultimatum would make him see reason! Oliver let out a sigh as he shook his head in disappointment. "Then I guess this is goodbye, Felicity."

Felicity watched in shock and anger as he left with his bags and what neither would know, especially until years later, is that their night together had left Felicity pregnant. A child she'd end up causing to have some very screwed up views of heroes and of Oliver himself especially due to how bitter she had felt where Oliver was concerned. That is, at least, until Mia Smoak ended up meeting her father and realizing a few things where he was concerned. And while it hadn't been the easiest of times to re-earn John's trust once Oliver got back, he would eventually succeed as he worked on being a better brother to his sister that she needed and being the hero Star City needed and helping Roy get back some normalcy in his life. Things between him and Laurel would also eventually see the two re-uniting for good as well.

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**Author's Notes: Probably not as good as it could be and had meant to finish it hours ago but hey, better later than never!**


End file.
